Frisian handball

(short for Permanent Committee), has been held in the city of Franeker since 1854 and is considered the oldest regular sports tournament in the world.

Of course, the serving team is allowed to prevent this happening by hitting or holding the ball before the upper line.

The place where the ball remains after such a rally is marked with a small woodblock called a kaats, which is best defined as an undecided score.

In parts of Belgium, the similar game of jeu de balle-pelote [fr; nl] is played.

The Dutch who settled the Hudson River area named the fields where indigenous people played their ballgames, 'kaatsbaan'.